Shallow America

            After returning from Europe for six months, it has taken me longer than usual to remember my normal routine.  America is not helping.  It is apparent that American television has digressed.  Every time I turn on the tube I see neo-Republican soapbox shouters caught in an endless loop of stale, uninteresting, pretentious commentary.  Why is it they are always shouting?  Why are they always whirling their bodies around like Shakers and Quakers seemingly speaking in tongues?  If I hear one more panel speak about the state of the American economy...  We’ve got it.  You don’t need to tell us anymore about what you don’t know.  We don’t need to see any more bad news.  What we need to hear about is innovation in business, manufacturing, or the arts.  What we need to see is a return to America’s grassroots movement embracing things that are meaningful, righteous, and giving.  What we don’t need is shallow commentary trying to squeeze a dime out of the American people.  There are too many channels.  There are too many networks.  There are too many devices.  The simple task of finding a program has become monumental.  There are mirror channels now.  One is HD and one is not.  Why have both?  I prefer a basic set of 60 or so channels provided by a satellite.  That used to be Direct TV, and I remember experiencing it in Black Mountain, North Carolina at a Comfort Inn.  There on the tube was everything I needed to stay entertained.  These days I find myself watching only a few networks.  Their content veritably is grassroots.  “Moonshiners.”  “Storage Wars.”  “American Chopper.”  “Swamp Men.”  Why is it these particular kinds of programs are interesting?  There isn’t a lot going on, but their concept deals with a grassroots level of humanity.  They are satisfying, because the people in these shows are doing things Americans always have done and enjoyed.  There is both a visceral and spiritual satisfaction that comes from pursuing a cause and then reaping the reward.  What makes it better is that it is not cyber.  It is not cerebral.  It is tangible, and that means satisfying the human psyche.  America’s wealthy slowly over time have robbed Americans of the infrastructure that used to satisfy some of these desires.  We used to have clean, natural, drinking water.  We used to have clean natural air devoid of electromagnetic waves.  We used to have clean space to stretch our legs.  Now it appears America is going Communist.  I never knew what that looked like until I went to Spain.  Then I began to see long flat expanses of governmental-like housing.  There were metal fences.  There were courtyards.  There was dirt.  There were few trees.  There were few people.  It looked like a Communist camp.  America is becoming increasingly Communist.  If Barak Obama is a socialist, and that would not be bad, he is not responsible for the wealthy in America’s charge to communize the United States.  Are not our freedoms as both humans and American citizens being violated?  Did not the Patriot Act violate our right to privacy?  Does not the legislation Imminent Domain undermine the essence of the American Constitution?  Why would we elect former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich president?   All ready he has proven he is capable of failing to implement a “Contract with America.”  He proved he could shut down the federal government.  He has lied to his wife and his republic.  If we the people do not being to see what is happening, it may be too late.